


Cocoa Powder Sneeze

by sarahgirl1998



Category: Harvey Street Kids (Cartoon)
Genre: Audrey Sneezes, Baking, Comedy, Female Sneezing, Gen, Humor, Sneezing, Sneezing while baking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23288440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahgirl1998/pseuds/sarahgirl1998
Summary: Audrey discovers that flour isn’t the only edible ingredient in cupcakes that can make you sneeze.
Kudos: 1





	Cocoa Powder Sneeze

It was a lovely day in the neighborhood of Harvey Street; the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the air felt warm. This was the kind of day that made the Harvey Girls decide they wanted to bake some snacks for their friends.

Baking was something that Audrey, Dot and Lotta enjoyed doing together. Even if things didn’t go as planned, it still meant that they would be able to reward themselves after they were finished. They’d never made the same thing twice in a row, either. Last week they had made some delectable sugar cookies with an ice cream filling, topped with brown sugar and sprinkles. Today, however, they were going to make chocolate cupcakes. Everybody liked chocolate as well as cupcakes, even the kids who wanted to watch their weight for one reason or another.

The egg had been beaten to a perfect consistency, and so the sugar and milk had been added. Dot hummed contentedly to herself as she moved the wooden spoon in her hand this way and that. Lotta was busy preparing the icing from scratch, as Dot had told her that homemade icing would taste better than store-bought frosting.

“Audrey!” Dot called. “Have you gotten the flour and cocoa powder out yet?”

“Yeah,” Audrey replied with a nod. Next to the bowl she was standing in front of was a bag of flour and a bottle of cocoa powder.

“Excellent. I’ll sift the flour for you, and you can sift the cocoa powder.”

Dot moved over to Audrey, picked up a measuring cup and scooped out a good amount of flour. She made sure it was the right amount necessary - they were making about eighteen cupcakes - and then she poured it into a handheld sieve and then shook it slowly a few times over Audrey’s bowl. The flour became finer and finer as it fell to the bottom of the bowl.

“You know, the more gently you do this,” Dot pointed out as she softly tapped the side of the sieve with her hand, “the less likely you are to get any of this flour in your face.”

“Yeah, I knew that,” Audrey said. “But what if you’re trying this with the cocoa powder and you get some of that in your face?”

“I’m really not sure,” said Dot. “But as long as you’re careful with that, too, you won’t have to worry.”

“Alright, but what’s the worst that could happen?” Audrey asked herself.

Finally all of the flour was sifted; the amount that had been in the sieve was now in a powdery form at the bottom of the bowl. Satisfied, Dot poured some cocoa powder into her measuring cup, making sure it was the right amount needed for the cupcakes. It was, and she poured it into the sieve for Audrey.

“Good luck,” Dot said as she went back over to the mixture she’d been working on.

Audrey held the handle of the sieve in her hand - but unlike Dot, she began to tap the side of the sieve a bit harder than she did. A couple puffs of brown cocoa powder floated up into her face. A pleasant flavor found its way onto her lips, and she licked them with a smile.

“Mmm. This stuff sure tastes good!” Audrey commented.

Just after she’d said that, however, Audrey’s eyes widened as her nose began to tickle. Some of the powder had made its way into her nose, causing a mild burning sensation as her nostrils flared up.

“How’s it coming along, Audrey?” Dot wanted to know, but Audrey didn’t reply. Dot turned her head to look at her. “Audrey?”

“Aaah... Haaaah...” Audrey’s breath began to hitch as her eyelids lowered, and she tilted her neck back. She was going to sneeze. “HaaaaaaAAAAAH...”

However, before she could inhale any more, Dot zipped back over to her and placed her forefinger underneath her nose. She had realized what was going to happen as soon as Audrey had begun inhaling, and she had to stop it as soon as she could.

After a pause, Audrey sighed with relief as she opened her eyes. Her sneeze had gone away.

“Phew. Thanks, Dot,” said Audrey. “That was a close one.”

“Indeed.” Dot pulled her forefinger away from Audrey’s nose. “The last thing we need is a disaster caused by a sneeze...”

Audrey nodded in agreement and went back to sifting the cocoa powder. She decided to do as Dot advised her and tapped the sieve more gently, so no more clouds of the powder would float into her face. Finally all of it was in the bowl along with the flour.

“How would you like me to mix this and add it to the mixture for you?” Dot suggested. “You can put away the flour and cocoa powder.”

“Alright. At least that stuff didn’t make me sneeze...”

Audrey picked up the bag of flour, rolled it closed and then put it back into the cupboard. She then picked up the bottle of cocoa powder and put it in the cupboard as well. But what she didn’t realize was that the bottle was still open, and when she put it down, another thin cloud of cocoa powder came floating into her face.

“Gah!” Audrey winced in surprise and pulled her face away from the bottle, but she was too late. Her eyes squeezed shut, her nostrils flared widely, and then she let out an explosive sneeze.

“AAAAAAAHHHHHH-TCHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

Audrey shot her neck forwards as she released the sneeze, with a good amount of spray being released from her mouth. The sound of the sneeze caused both Dot and Lotta to wince in surprise, and then they looked at Audrey in concern. But she still had to sneeze; she could still feel a bit of cocoa dust tickling the insides of her nose.

“HaaaAAAH-- CHOOOOOOO!!” Audrey sneezed again, bringing her arm up to cover her mouth. Before she could wipe her nose, she gave three more sneezes into it. “CHU!! AH-CHOO!! AHHHH-TCHUUUUU!!! Ugh...”

Audrey pulled her arm away from her nose and sulked a bit, bringing her other hand up to her nose so she could rub her nose with her forefinger. Her nose had begun to drip with a bit of clear mucus.

“Oh, my... Bless you, Audrey!” said Lotta.

“Gesundheit!” Dot replied.

“Thanks...” Audrey sniffled, still rubbing her nose. “I guess I didn’t realize cocoa powder could make me so sneezy...”

“Well, I tried to warn you that something would happen if you weren’t careful with it,” Dot mentioned.

Audrey nodded in agreement, then gave another sniffle before she pulled her hand away from her nose. Lotta reached into the pocket of her skirt.

“You need a tissue, Audrey?”

Audrey nodded, but Lotta pulled out a handkerchief instead. It was a light pink color and very soft.

“Hmm, all I have is a hanky...” She offered it to Audrey. “How would you like to use it for a while?”

Audrey smiled as she took the handkerchief, held it to her nose and blew for about one second. A majority of the mucus cleared from her nose, she sighed with relief as she wiped her nose with the cloth.

“Thanks, Lotta.”

“Oh, you’re welcome,” said Lotta. “I don’t think you should bake any more until you feel better.”

“Yeah, probably not.” Audrey sniffled, still wiping her nose. “What could be more yucky than germy cupcakes?”

“Well, at least the cupcake batter hasn’t been ruined from your sneezes,” Dot mused. “I’ll mix it a bit more, then it’ll be ready to put into the oven. In the meantime, you should probably take a break.”

Audrey and Lotta both nodded, agreeing with her. Dot mixed the cake batter for a few more seconds, and then scooped some of it into a few cupcake pans. She then opened up the oven, placed the pans inside and closed the door, but not without setting a timer for just how long the cupcakes were supposed to be cooked.

Meanwhile, Lotta consoled Audrey over her sneeze attack. She still sniffled a few times, and sometimes needed to blow her nose again. At least she had Lotta’s handkerchief with her.

“Sorry the cocoa powder made you sneeze, Audrey,” said Lotta.

“Ah, it’s alright. It’s probably my own fault,” Audrey replied. She wiped a small amount of clear mucus from her nostrils. “The next thing I know, other foods are gonna make me sneeze, too...”

“But look on the bright side,” Lotta said with a comforting smile. “At least the cupcakes won’t make you sneeze when it’s time to eat them.”

Audrey thought about the point she had made, and then smiled. “Not wrong there.”

By the way, Audrey’s nose stopped running just as the cupcakes had been ready. Before she helped Dot and Lotta decorate them, however, she made sure to give her handkerchief back to Lotta and wash her hands first. After all, keeping her hands as clean as she could was just as important as making their cupcakes as delicious as they could.


End file.
